3 Best Tips for Amazing Family Travel with Your Kids

Travelling with kids can be memorable, but if things are overly structured or there’s too much forced togetherness, family vacations can turn grim. To make sure that your family vacation is positive and leaves everyone wanting more, you’ll need to make sure you can travel in comfort, enjoy outings together and get a little alone time.

Rent a Roomy Car

If you’re planning to spend at least part of your vacation in the car, make sure that everyone has enough space. For those traveling with older kids, consider renting a vehicle such as an SUV or van with three rows of seats to give everyone plenty of room. Younger children will likely need to be closer so you can monitor them more closely. If you’ve never rented a car before, it may be a good idea to rent one similar to what you usually drive in this instance.

Plan a Space Where Older Kids Can Run

You’re going on an adventure, and your older children may want to be able to break free and stretch their legs a bit. You can make this more possible by setting an eye-catching feature that they must stay in sight of. If you’re taking the family to the beach, invest in a giant umbrella and make sure your older kids stay within visual range. If they’re not strong swimmers, invest in good quality flotation vests. If your kids are old enough to have their own cell phones, check in with them as they roam. You can keep tabs on them while allowing them to expand their own horizons.

Leave Time for Doing Nothing

If budgets are tight but you still want to get away as a family, make room for unstructured time. You can even have an exciting bicycle staycation in your city and arrange lunchtime picnics. Plan to spend a few hours letting your children run free at a local park. Bring large balloons or tie a brightly colored piece of fabric to a tree branch and let your kids go as far as they can while still keeping in visual range. Then, schedule nothing and see what their imaginations can do.

It can be tempting to pack as much vacation fun into your trip as possible, but this can leave everyone feeling exhausted and overloaded. Leave time for naps, for reading alone or just for daydreaming. Focus on comfort, not speed or efficiency.